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Neuropathy Now, 11, 2007

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Relay, the official Journal of the Neuropathy Trust, reported our study (Issue 26, pages 10-11) with the Title of "Peace of Mind, Peace of Body"

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WFRV (Green Bay, WS) reporter Lisa Malak reported our study with the title of "Tai Chi For Poor Limb Circulation"

Links to the transicrip of Ms. Malak' march 29, 2006 report.

Link to the transcript of Mr. Rainier's March 24, 2006 report.

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(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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Tai chi therapy

Martial arts class proves beneficial for people with peripheral neuropathy

By LAURIE SMITH ANDERSON
Advocate staff writer
Published: May 21, 2006

Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS Advocate staff photos by PATRICK DENNIS Instructor Thomas Yajun, foreground, leads a special tai chi class at LSU that has helped some participants with peripheral neuropathy to improve balance and walking skills. Among those participating are, from left, Wilda Denham, Ivory Toldson and Jim Thibodeaux.

Juanita Guillot feels certain she would be in a wheelchair today were it not for a special tai chi class she takes at LSU to improve her balance and walking skills.

In 1995, Guillot was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, which is damage to nerve endings that causes weakness, numbness, tingling, burning and pain in the hands, arms, feet and legs. Balance problems and loss of sensation can make it difficult to walk, drive and grip.

In Guillot, the disease progressed to the point where she was staggering, holding on to people and objects as she moved about, and she even fell a couple of times.

“I’m 62 years old, not an old lady,” she said. “Three years ago, I thought about getting a cane and was afraid I was headed for the wheelchair, but not now. No way!”

As a member of the Baton Rouge Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group, Guillot heard about the tai chi class, which was initiated by Li Li, an LSU kinesiologist who was interested in helping people afflicted with peripheral neuropathy.

“I’m a biomechanist, which means I study balance and gait,” Li said. “About four years ago, I met a man who could walk well but had to hold on to something in order to stand. That suggested to me that the control mechanisms of balance and walking are different, and I found that very interesting.

“About two years ago, I started going to the support group meetings for people with peripheral neuropathy, and they were seeking help. So, I started a six-week study in the summer of 2004 comparing two forms of exercise, walking and tai chi, to see what impact they might have on balance and gait.”

Both groups saw improvements, he said, but the tai chi group was more motivated to continue the program.

Preliminary data from testing showed most participants had recovered balance, improved mobility and suffered less pain. A small percentage even recovered some sensation in their feet.

“I believe there is a link between tai chi and nerve regrowth,” Li said. Many of the participants have been able to give up their canes and walkers. Falling and fear of falling are major concerns for peripheral neuropathy patients. Several of the class members reported falling less and walking with greater confidence.

Participants started with a modified beginner’s class, many of them holding onto chairs to keep their balance. “Now, there are no more chairs,” Li said.

Now, almost two years after the pilot study began, more than 30 people are still meeting for classes behind the LSU Fieldhouse two to three times a week for either 60- or 90-minute sessions.

Instructor Thomas Yajun leads the group in the Chinese martial arts form believed to promote health and longevity and improve internal circulation. It has also been called a “moving meditation.” Participants employ slow, graceful, repetitive movements in a natural range of motion over their center of gravity.

In addition, some of the LSU study participants are undergoing a special infrared light therapy to determine whether it might show some of the same benefits.

Local neurologist Allen Proctor works with Li to review the study procedures. One other faculty member, a doctoral student, three undergraduate students and Yajun are also involved.

Thus far, the program has been conducted with the support of the college, but with little in the way of direct funding and at no cost to the participants. Li said he hopes to apply for funds to support the program and offer services to more peripheral neuropathy patients.

Guillot, a retired licensed practical nurse who lives in Baker, says her condition has improved though she still has some numbness.

“I’m not staggering as much. I’m better able to control my balance. I don’t have to grab on to people, and I haven’t fallen since I started tai chi. I have more confidence about going out in public again. It (the class) has been a Godsend to me.”

Eighty-one-year-old Pat Dimeceli of Amite and her son, Darryl, travel three hours round-trip three times a week to participate in the class. She has some numbness in her feet, and her son, who was electrocuted, was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy.

“My son had to use a cane before but he doesn’t now. He’s doing much better. So am I. I saw my cardiologist last week, and he said, ‘You look great. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. It’s given me such a positive outlook. I wouldn’t give it (the class) up for the world,” Dimeceli said.

Dennis Edmon was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy in 1998. “I heard about the tai chi class through Dr. Li and the support group. I didn’t think it would help, but I was willing to try anything.

“In a few weeks, I saw improvements in my balance. I still have some numbness, but I feel more sure of myself. I don’t stumble as much or fall anymore. Now, I schedule everything around tai chi. I attend classes religiously and only miss if I go out of town.”

There are many known causes of peripheral neuropathy, according to The Neuropathy Association. Treating the underlying condition can, in some cases, slow, stop or reverse the condition. Vitamin deficiencies can be corrected with supplements, and infections are treated with antibiotics. Toxic or drug-induced neuropathies are treated by removing the offending agent, and in diabetes (the most common known cause of neuropathy), close control of blood sugar helps slow the development of neuropathy.

In one-third of cases, there is no known cause and no cure, though treatment can help.

In some cases, treatment means relief of symptoms, such as pain, but what works for one patient may not work for another, and some of the medications can have undesirable side effects.

The LSU program has a continuous open enrollment. For more information on Li’s studies and the tai chi group, visit the LSU Web site http://www.pn.lsu.edu or call (225) 578-2036.

For more information about peripheral neuropathy, the Neuropathy Association maintains a Web site at http://www.neuropathy.org.

Copyright © 1992-2006, 2theadvocate.com, WBRZ

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The Daily Advertiser (msills@thedailyadvertiser.com)
Published: September 5, 2006

Fuentes teaches t'ai chi to students at UL through its leisure program, Potpourri. He began learning the art after an injury prevented him from continuing his study of tae kwon do. Fuentes is credited as one of the authors of the book, T'ai Chi for Dummies.

Since summer 2004, LSU researchers have conducted intervention studies on practices that may help manage the medical condition.

The impact of practicing t'ai chi is making marked improvements in the lives of the research subjects, said Li Li, an LSU associate professor who is working on the study.

"The disease itself is affecting people's movement function, especially walking and balance, and t'ai chi is a traditional Chinese exercise," Li said. "Its focus is on balance and how to control your body."

Audrey Thibodeaux, right, and Sandy LeJeune practice t'ai chi during an Aug. 16 class at McLaurin Gym.

"I like the fact that I have to be aware of so many things at one time and that you're always trying to perfect it," LeJeune said.

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Relay, the official Journal of the Neuropathy Trust, Issue 26 (Winter 1006), Pages 10-11.

Peace of Mind, Peace of Body

By Ashley Berthelot

For Li Li, Professor of Kinesiology at Louisiana State University USA, a novel way to fight peripheral neuropathy came to him from the East. “Tai Chi, the eastern art of strength and meditation best known for its graceful stretching manoeuvres, may be poised to become an affordable and powerful treatment option for people battling the debilitating effects of peripheral neuropathy”, said Li Li.

Louisiana State University, located in the capital city of Baton Rouge, runs a program focused on the study of Tai Chi and its benefits versus other forms of exercise and more traditional methods of treatment. “At this point, Tai Chi consistently produces vastly superior results in people with most forms of peripheral neuropathy” he said.

In the city of Baton Rouge alone, there are an estimated 48,000 people affected by peripheral neuropathy. But most current treatments for the condition are palliative and primarily focused on pain management, not on fighting the disease itself. As a specialist in the study of movement and gait, Li became interested in the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy almost completely by chance. It happened because of a man named Charlie who works for facility services at LSU. Charlie’s job was to tag equipment in various kinesiology labs, so Li had become quite familiar with him. One day, he noticed that Charlie carried a cane but did not use it to walk, only to stand. When the professor asked him about it, Charlie told him that he had a condition called peripheral neuropathy and could not feel the bottoms of his feet. This was confusing. “Common sense, physics, biology and medical teaching all tells that one cannot walk if one cannot stand”, Li said, shaking his head. As a biomechanist, his curiosity was aroused. He decided to pursue the idea and see where it might lead.

The study begins

To gain some perspective on the subject, Li attended meetings of a local peripheral neuropathy support group. He was inspired by their resistance to the idea of simply accepting their doctors’ warnings of wheelchairs and canes and decided to develop a study that would take a deeper look at the disease.

The study, backed by little to no funding, started out in the summer of 2004 and was scheduled to last only a few months. Participants felt such improvement, however, that they refused to give it up. So, in the autumn of 2005, the study resumed with great anticipation and with funding from LSUs Department of Kinesiology. What was once a simple comparison between two forms of exercise, walking and Tai Chi, has now developed into a full-fledged study, utilizing the expertise of biomechanists, psychologists, physiologists and many others in order to gain a better understanding of the actual impact this one-time martial art produces.

The program includes approximately 75 individuals, with breakaway groups meeting up to three times a week for lessons. Thomas Yajun, a Tai Chi master who moved to the United States only three years ago knowing little to no English, leads the classes through their routines. The practice room, a long rectangle with large windows, remains largely silent except for melodic, barely audible music and the swish of clothing as participants bend their bodies into complex shapes and angles.

Solid, sturdy beams run down the centre of the room and chairs line each wall, easily accessible from any point in the narrow area. “We encourage our participants not to push themselves”, said Li. “We want them to take a break and sit down when they need to”. He knows every person, not just those in the room, but in the entire program. He knows their problems, their situations and the details of their stories. He uses this knowledge to continually improve the program and push for the funding necessary to take it to the next level.

Classes make a difference

“People wouldn't come if it wasn’t doing something”, Li said. “I mean, some of these people travel fifty to one hundred miles round trip just to make it to our classes. Also, daunting financial problems leave many participants feeling dependant on the classes. For many of them, if they couldn’t come to our sessions, which are offered free of charge, they couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.”

There are over 150 people in the Baton Rouge area waiting join Li’s study. But with only LSUs Department of Kinesiology sponsoring the program, they cannot support any additional participants. Parking and facility space are already posing a problem. Li hopes to receive funding in the near future that will allow him to expand the program so that it can help others fight back against the pain of peripheral neuropathy.

“Being consistent with Tai Chi is very important”, said Li. “After all, no matter how effective a treatment is, nothing is going to go away in the span of only a month.”

“I have been here since the beginning”, said Henrietta Jones, longtime sufferer of peripheral neuropathy. “I find that it has really helped me. Before, I couldn’t untie my shoes. I could hardly get them off.” Smiling, she demonstrated her improved range of motion, easily crossing an ankle over her knee. “I’ve definitely come a long way. When I miss, say a week, I can see how much I’ve lost in that length of time ... it’s like starting all over again.”

Improving lives

Test results indicate Tai Chi is more than just a mind game or a placebo, it really works. Li’s group conducts periodic scientific and medical testing to track each person’s progress as they continue in the program. Other, more traditional methods of treatment, including walking, light machines, etc., are also studied to compare the results to those gained from Tai Chi. So far, Tai Chi is the undisputed winner, producing improved flexibility, sensation and overall health. Most patients report a significant decrease in falls, increased confidence walking and standing and are able to stop using walking frames or canes after consistent and extensive participation.

Also encouraging is the fact that nearly every participant eventually convinces someone else to come along with them, whether that person is affected by peripheral neuropathy or not. “We see lots of family members and friends start attending the classes. Also, some of our newer people don’t have peripheral neuropathy but Parkinson’s disease, and even though they know the study doesn’t have anything to do with their illness, they still want to come because it makes them feel better. Everybody wants to come after they hear about it”, Li said, smiling proudly.

“Now, all that is left is the wait for more funds, more interested parties and even more conclusive test results. But, for now, perhaps the participants’ testimony is the real data proving the benefits of Tai Chi for people with peripheral neuropathy.”

Positive participants

Another participant, Marian King, said “I have really been helped by the program. My legs felt like they had bands around them and my feet would burn almost constantly. Since I’ve been here [approximately nine months], I’ve had only two episodes of severe burning and the bands, whereas it was on a daily basis before.” Prior to joining the program Marion was forced to stop working due to increasing difficulty with walking and standing.

Jerry Stewart, an LSU employee who participates in the study during his work break, concurs wholeheartedly. “I have definitely noticed more sensation and more flexibility. I’ve done all the tests; I’m a grade A lab rat. But it’s not a problem I’m happy to support this program in any way I can.”

“We are seeing great results, and are very excited,” Li said. “Some people started the program unable to stand, even with assistance, for more than five minutes. Today, these same people have no trouble standing independently.”

“I’ve only been here two weeks, and I can already tell a big difference”, said Jane Olmstead, whose doctor told her more than fifteen years ago that water aerobics was the only way she would stay out of a wheelchair. “But I feel like this is a lot better than the water. Now I can feel every muscle in my body.”

“I was falling down in the house a lot. Sometimes I would fall down just by tripping. Tai Chi has brought about a real improvement,” said John Liebert, who only recently joined the program. “I fall down far less, and that’s the big issue with me. It’s not going to cure the disease, but it was never intended to be a cure. It has definitely helped my lifestyle. It’s been a real improvement.”

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Date: January 24, 2007

Science Daily — Peripheral neuropathy is a degenerative nerve disease with no cure and few effective treatment options -- until now. Li Li, professor of kinesiology at LSU, is conducting a study into the benefits of tai chi for elderly peripheral neuropathy patients. So far, those practicing tai chi show far greater levels of improvement that those pursuing more traditional methods of treatment.

Test results prove tai chi is more than just a mind game or a placebo it really works. Li's group conducts periodic scientific and medical testing to track each person's progress as they continue in the program. Other, more traditional methods of treatment, including walking and light machines, are also studied to compare the results to those gained from tai chi, but so far it is still the undisputed winner, producing improved flexibility, sensation and overall health.

Most patients report a significant decrease in falls, increased confidence walking and standing and are able to stop using walkers or canes after consistent and extensive participation.

The study, backed by little to no funding, started out in the summer of 2004 and was slated to last only a few months. But participants felt such improvement that they refused to give it up. So, in the fall of 2005, the study resumed with great anticipation and with funding from LSU s Department of Kinesiology. What was once a simple comparison between two forms of exercise walking and tai chi has now developed into a full-fledged study, utilizing the expertise of biomechanists, psychologists, physiologists and many others in order to gain a better understanding of the actual impact this exercise produces.

The program includes approximately 75 individuals, with breakaway groups meeting up to three times a week for lessons. Thomas Yajun, a tai chi master who moved to the United States only three years ago knowing little to no English, leads the classes through their routines, which take into consideration the group's general level of mobility. As they become more comfortable and gain more mobility, Yajun pushes them farther, constantly expanding their boundaries. "People wouldn't come if it wasn't doing something," Li said. "I mean, some of these people travel 50 to 100 miles round trip just to make it to our classes. For many of them, if they couldn't come to our sessions, which are offered free of charge, they couldn't afford to go anywhere else."

There are more than 150 people in the Baton Rouge area waiting join Li's study. But with only LSU's Department of Kinesiology sponsoring the program, it cannot support any additional participants. Parking and facility space are already posing a problem. Li hopes to receive funding in the near future that will allow him to expand the program so that it can help others fight back against the pain of peripheral neuropathy.

"I have really been helped by the program. My legs felt like they had bands around them and my feet would burn almost constantly. Since I've been here [approximately nine months], I've had only two episodes of severe burning and the bands, where as it was on a daily basis before," said Marian King, who, prior to joining the program was forced to stop working due to increasing difficulty with walking and standing.

"We're seeing great results, and we're very excited," Li said. "Some people started the program unable to stand, even with assistance, for more than five minutes. Today, these same people have no trouble standing independently."

"I was falling down in the house a lot. Sometimes I would fall down just by tripping. It's [tai chi] been a real improvement," said John Liebert, who only recently joined the program. "I fall down far less, and that's the big issue with me. It's not going to cure the disease, but it was never intended to be a cure. It has definitely helped my lifestyle. It's been a real improvement."

For more information about Li's peripheral neuropathy tai chi group, please visit http://pn.lsu.edu/index.htm.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Louisiana State University.

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By Ashley Berthelot, Research Editor, Louisiana State University Public Affairs Department

Tai Chi, the eastern art of strength and meditation best known for its graceful stretching maneuvers, is poised to become an affordable and powerful treatment option for people battling the debilitating effects of peripheral neuropathy.

Li Li, professor of Kinesiology at Louisiana State University (LSU), runs a program studying the benefits of Tai Chi on people diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy (PN), versus more traditional methods of treatment.  To date, Tai Chi consistently produced superior results in people with all forms of PN.

The Tai Chi practice here is not in its traditional format. The maneuvers has been modified to suite the needs of the PN patients. The group meets in a small, quiet room on the LSU campus. It’s lined with windows that bring in a comfortable amount of warm, natural lighting. Solid, sturdy beams run down the center of the room and chairs line each wall, easily accessible from any point in the narrow area. Yajun “Thomas” Zhuang, a Tai Chi master who moved to the United States only three years ago knowing little English, leads the classes through their routines, the room remains largely silent except for melodic, barely audible music and the swish of clothing as participants bend their bodies into complex shapes and angles.

“We encourage our participants not to push themselves,” said Li. “We want them to take a break and sit down when they need to.”

As a specialist in the study of movement and gait, Li became interested in the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy because of a guy named Charlie who works for LSU facility services. One day, he noticed that Charlie carried a cane but did not use it to walk, only to stand. When asked, Charlie told Li that he had a condition called peripheral neuropathy and could not feel the bottoms of his feet.

 “I was confused. Common sense, physics, biology and medical teaching all tells that one cannot walk if one cannot stand,” Li said, shaking his head. As a biomechanist, his curiosity was piqued. He began the study, backed by barely any funding, he began his neuropathy study in 2004. Now, he has approximately 75 individuals enrolled, with breakaway groups meeting three times a week for lessons. Over 150 people have placed themselves on a waiting list for admittance.

“I have been here since the beginning,” shared Henrietta Jones, an original participants and long-time PN sufferer. “Before, I couldn’t untie my shoes. I could hardly get them off.” Smiling, she demonstrated her improved range of motion, easily crossing an ankle over her knee. “I’ve definitely come a long way. When I miss, say, a week, I can see how much I’ve lost in that length of time. It’s like starting all over again.”

 “I was falling down in the house a lot. Sometimes I would fall down just by tripping. It’s [Tai Chi] been a real improvement,” said John Liebert, who only recently joined the program. “I fall down far less, and that’s the big issue with me. It’s not going to cure the disease, but it was never intended to be a cure. It has definitely helped my lifestyle. It’s been a real improvement.”

 “Tai Chi patients report to me that they feel better after the exercise,” said Dr. Allen Proctor of the Neuromedical Center in Baton Rouge. Board-certified in neurology, Proctor has been involved with the program since its inception. “They [patients] enjoy getting out of the house and socializing with other patients with similar problems. The Tai Chi is a beneficial exercise but also seems to be effective in helping patients with peripheral neuropathy with their balance.”

 “This style of Tai Chi is different and slower then what you would find on the general market for Tai chi exercise. The slow meditative style helps to increase the range of motion of the joints, relaxes the mind, and improves circulation,” said Dr. Richard Palecki, a podiatrist at the Coastal Foot Clinic who regularly works with Li’s group. “After listening to my patients’ experiences with the program, I highly encourage all of my PN patients to sign up for the classes. I am very excited about how the results of Dr. Li’s program may change the lives of thousands of people who suffer with PN and how it can give doctors a way to treat PN and offer patients hope.”

For more information on Li’s work and his research group, please visit http://pn.lsu.edu/index.htm or contact Dr. Li Li at 225-578-2036 or lli3@lsu.edu.

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Professor uses tai chi to treat neuropathy - Ancient Chinese philosophy used

By Freke Ette, The Daily Reveille (Student news paper of Louisiana State University), 2/27/07

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A philosophy of healing

Tuesday, February 27, 2007, By Sarah Young

Doctors attributed her unusual condition to an old knee injury, misdiagnosing the real culprit—peripheral neuropathy, an oft-misunderstood degenerative nerve disease that causes numbness, pain and imbalance for one in eight people. In Baton Rouge alone that’s 40,000 sufferers.

Like many sufferers, Hodgin, 54, tried a variety of exercises such as swimming seeking relief. It wasn’t until September 2006, when she enrolled in an unorthodox program through LSU, that she found it.

Li Li, a professor in the LSU Department of Kinesiology, began a program treating sufferers with tai chi, the ancient Chinese practice of breathing, form and meditation.

“This has been the only thing that has worked for me,” Hodgin says. “Before I couldn’t walk very far and I certainly couldn’t stand here and talk to you.”

Leading the weekly tai chi sessions is Yajun Zhuang, or Thomas as his “students” call him. In China he trained top athletes for the Olympics. He has studied the tai chi philosophy and has written three books on the subject. When he came to America three years ago he knew little to no English, but has found a way to communicate and reach out to participants in the program.

Since Li created the program in May 2004, hundreds of participants have reported greater range of motion thanks to the weekly tai chi classes.

“Most people just think of tai chi as something to do to relax, but it’s so much more than that,” Hodgin says. “It’s really about your general well-being, about feeling better about yourself. I plan on staying in the program as long as I can.”

Today, the program is maxed out with 75 participants, with another 200 on the waiting list.

Although Li is no closer to finding the cause of peripheral neuropathy, he has found an effective treatment method and helped hundreds of participants in the program’s short two-year history.

“Many patients start the program unable to stand up for more than five minutes at a time,” said Ashley Berthelot, a research editor with LSU Public Affairs. “After as little as six weeks, most of them can stand unassisted for long periods of time. It has been a fantastic experience for those involved, many of whom were told to expect to be in wheelchairs by this point.”

Most sufferers diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy lose cutaneous sensation on the bottom of their feet, which is vital to maintaining their balance. Li describes tai chi as the training of dynamic balance and says continued practice increases awareness of the body’s position and orientation, helping sufferers take control of their balance and prevent falls. Through tai chi most participants have regained sensation under their feet and are back to doing things they used to take for granted, like being able to stand in the shower and wash their hair.

With so many participants reaping the benefit of this study, it is Li’s hope that the program continues to grow and help sufferers of the disease. But funding has been an issue in the past, threatening to shut it down completely. Li’s research team is looking at grant opportunities to expand the program to include more slots. A 4-year, $300,000 donation from the Reilly Family Foundation is already helping in this effort.

Since there currently is no treatment, the only thing doctors can prescribe is painkillers, Li says. The painkillers manage the pain and have nothing to do with treating peripheral neuropathy.

“We’ve seen the light. What we do here really helps them,” says Li. “We have the evidence: their pain is reduced, their sensation is recovered, their balance has improved, they are walking better.”

All of those signs show that Li’s research team is really getting to the bottom of the disease itself, not just treating the symptoms, he says. They hope to take this research a step further and find what is actually causing the changes.

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LSU’s Study of PN gets good results, betters patients’ lives

By Lee Davis

Feeling tingly isn’t always a sign of being twitterpated, the way Bambi was in Walt Disney’s movie.  Sometimes, that tingly feeling – especially when it occurs in the feet or hands – can be a sign of the serious condition classified as peripheral neuropathy (PN).

The most common manifestations of PN are pain and numbness in the hands and feet.  The pain usually feels like tingling or burning.

Baton Rougeans with PN have the advantage of Dr. Li’s research into PN, a unique study the professor of biomechanics is conducting at Louisiana State University.  In fact, the study is drawing attention from across the country.  Dr. Li regularly fields telephone inquiries from researchers and physicians in other states, who are seeking advice based on his findings.

“In our study, we use exercise as an intervention to help people with PN live a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Li explains, “and we study the way exercise helps them.”

PN affects the sensory nerves in fingertips and toes.  The burning and tingling are its manifestations in the early stages.  Another symptom is restless legs.  Dr. Li says the pain increases as the condition progresses.  The pain also progresses along the body from the bottoms of the feet to the tops and up the legs.

According to Dr. Li, about 50 percent of diabetics have PN and about 45 percent of PN patients have diabetes.  “There is a definite overlap but they are two different diseases,” he emphasizes.

“At this point, we don’t know what causes PN but we do know two of its consequences.  First, because of the numbness the patient can reach the point where he doesn’t feel any kind of injury in the lower extremities.  Wounds there don’t heal and amputation often becomes necessary.

“Second, because of sensory nerve degeneration, PN affects a patient’s walk and balance.  That’s where we come in.  We devise exercises to help the patient recover and retain ways to keep balance and walk.”

He says one subject in the LSU study, a female, began the exercise regimen using a cane.  “Three months later, the cane had disappeared, and she was able to walk like a normal person with no impaired function,” Dr. Li says with a smile.  “There’s another, an 84-year-old who can wash his hair and close his eyes in the shower now (after practicing the exercises).  Before he was in the program, he couldn’t close his eyes because his balance was so poor he would fall.”

Such success stories motivate Dr. Li to persevere in his quest to secure funding to continue the study, now in its forth year.  “The study is important because we are making people’s lives better,” he says.  “At this stage, we know exercise will help and we know motivation is a huge part.”

Among the exercises tried, tai chi has proven especially beneficial to participants in the study.  PN is more prevalent among the senior population, and Dr. Li says the LSU study participants of both genders, aged 60-84, seem to like tai chi.  “Our study shows, compared to other interventions, tai chi carries better and better results,” he says.

Some participants became so enthusiastic they took a trip together to China and even visited the Great Wall!

Dr. Li says the study is open to additional participants. Study participants incur no cost.  They go to the LSU facility for three, weekly, 1-hour sessions.  If a person suspects he has PN but has not had a formal diagnosis, he may contact LSU for a referral.  For additional information, call 225/578-4395 or visit PN.LSU.EDU.

Page 17 – The Platinum Record/December 2007

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